Time to come clean about COVID crisis
Hawaii Unemployment 13.1% -- Thousands Quit Looking
COVID Screening: 133 cameras operational at 5 Airports Statewide
1.5% of Non-Hawaiian Pacific Islanders have COVID
DoE COVID Count Week 2 -- Total Hits 29
9th Circuit Ruling Leads to New Hawaii Gun Right Lawsuit
COVID Count: 284 new cases out of 2,634 tests
Hawaii residents frustrated with how coronavirus pandemic is being managed, survey finds
SA: … As the parade of triple- digit coronavirus case counts continued Friday, a statewide survey has detected a growing frustration among Hawaii residents about the way the pandemic is being managed.
The survey, completed earlier this month by Honolulu-based SMS Research & Marketing Service Inc., also found an increasing number of people concerned about themselves or someone in their family getting sick….
Hawaii state and county leaders have come under increasing criticism for their handling of the pandemic — from not having enough contact tracers to not being transparent enough with its data….
The SMS Community Pulse Survey — the latest of three surveys that date back to May — shows an erosion in the percentage of the general public who believe government’s management of the pandemic is moving in the right direction.
In the first survey, 64% said government was doing a good job. Now, that number is down to 45%.
In addition, 43% of Oahu residents say they want an immediate change in the policies that discourage tourists….
The survey elsewhere found four out of five Hawaii adults either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about themselves or someone in their family getting sick with COVID-19. The “very concerned” response increased 13 percentage points over the last survey….
Some 97% of those surveyed said they were careful to maintain a 6-foot distance outside their home, while 96% said they wore masks and 74% said they avoided groups larger than 10….
read … Hawaii residents frustrated with how coronavirus pandemic is being managed, survey finds
Beaches, parks closed 2 weeks ago and no decline–3,900 active cases 11% will go to Hospital
KHON: … “I’m concerned we’re not doing enough yet,” said Lt. Gov Green. “I was hopeful, actually, the restrictions on gatherings at parks and beaches would have had a much bigger effect, that it would cut it in half or more and it hasn’t happened.”
Under Mayor Caldwell’s newest order, beaches, parks and trails will remain closed through Sept. 17.
City officials said they are working on a plan to re-open outdoor activities like beaches, hiking and parks sooner, while making sure people do not gather in large groups.
“Being outdoors is safer than being indoors especially if you’re in your own household cluster,” Green explained. “If you’re in your own household cluster, you’re not at extra risk, you’re not at extra risk if you’re on a hike, you’re not at extra risk if you’re out swimming, or if you’re out on a walk together. Those are the things that don’t make sense to people.”
Green said he wanted to see strong recommendations announced as active cases statewide are at 3,900.
“My biggest worry right now is we have 3,900 active cases and about 11% are going to end up in the hospital and be quite sick, and our Dept. of Health needs to have time to breathe and get their testing and tracing back in place,” Lt. Gov. Green explained. “That was the secondary reason or purpose to have a stronger recommendation.”
“This is suggestive right now that there’s simply too big of a base of COVID-19 in the background and nothing short of a full ‘Safer at Home’ process will stop it,” he said. “I’m starting to feel that way, but we’ll see how Mayor and Governor’s new restrictions play out.”
read … Beaches, parks closed 2 weeks ago and case numbers remain the same
Hawaii officials eye empty hotel rooms, hostel for quarantine space
SA: … As COVID-19 cases continue to surge on Oahu, officials are seeking more Waikiki hotel rooms to house those who need to quarantine or isolate, and are considering taking over an entire hostel for that purpose.
The state Department of Health already is using about 50 rooms at four Waikiki hotels for quarantine and isolation space for COVID-19 positive people and close contacts who have been exposed and may or may not be positive.
Edward Mersereau, DOH’s Behavioral Health Services Administration deputy director, briefed the Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 on Wednesday about plans to convert another 130 hotel rooms for this purpose over the weekend or early next week….
(Better late than never? Lack of proper quarantine space is the key to why COVID is spreading in the projects among Micronesians.)
Officials also might use CARES Act funds to lease a Lemon Road hostel for use as a quarantine and isolation center, according to Sen. Sharon Moriwaki, who represents Waikiki and is on the Senate Special Committee on COVID-19.
Sources told the Star- Advertiser that the Waikiki Beachside Hostel at 2556 Lemon Road is under consideration. A hostel employee said Thursday that there had been discussions to tap the property for a COVID-19 response….
Kathryn Henski, a Waikiki Neighborhood Board member who lives near the hostel, said she won’t support it unless she’s guaranteed “that individuals can’t get out of the center and the city commits to cleaning up this neighborhood first.” We already have serious issues with homelessness,” she added….
read … Hawaii officials eye empty hotel rooms, hostel for quarantine space
Jailed Criminals Start Fights to Force Guards to Rotate COVID Patients Throughout Prison
CB: … Mass testing at the Oahu Community Correctional Center has detected inmates or staff with COVID-19 in almost all of the jail’s 19 housing units, and the jail administration has been unable to properly separate all of the infected prisoners from those who are well, according to staff at OCCC.
In one recent case, healthy inmates who were housed in an area with infected prisoners openly made threats against inmates who were known to be ill, which was apparently an attempt to force the jail administration to move the sick prisoners to some other part of the jail, according to jail staff who agreed to discuss the situation provided they are not identified….
(Translation: They are trying to spread COVID around to get out of jail.)
read … At Oahu Jail, Healthy Inmates Are Being Housed With COVID-19 Cases
Airport screener: ‘You can kind of tell’ who plans to skirt rules
MN: … Some of the names and faces posted by police and published in the newspaper look familiar to Kahului Airport screeners. They say some quarantine breakers started showing their true colors fresh off the plane.
Whether it was the person who tried passing off the Lahaina Post Office address as his booked lodgings or the ones who make a fuss in line and try to refuse to provide contact information, many of the breakers show their disdain for the rules early.
“You can kind of tell,” said Kahului Airport Business Systems Supervisor Denise Texeira. “We have people come for five days. We ask, ‘Do you know you have to quarantine?’ They say, ‘Yes I know.’ That kind of shows a red flag.” ….
Airport security personnel and officers from the Maui Police Department are stationed at the checkpoints, ready to back up screeners or intervene when passengers get testy. Officials say, on average, two passengers a day are denied entry to the island….
Maui Airports District Manager Marvin Moniz said some of the people who are turned around arrived planning to camp at the beach or to see if there was room in a shelter. Others have reservations at bed and breakfasts or other places where it is illegal for them to quarantine….
read … Airport screener: ‘You can kind of tell’ who plans to skirt rules
City bus drivers frustrated over lack of mask enforcement
KHON: …Their union said that more passengers are refusing to wear a mask, and drivers can’t do much about it.
Bus drivers pointed out that the mayor and the police chief said that officers will strictly enforce the latest restrictions, which include wearing a mask in public. But on the bus, drivers said mask enforcement is nearly impossible and it’s a growing problem.
“It’s happening quite often on all the routes, both in the city and the countryside. So operators complain about it everyday,” said Hawaii Teamsters President Wayne Kaululaau.
The simple solution would be to just kick the passenger off the bus, but Kaululaau said that’s against city policy. So instead, drivers have to call central control at the bus station, which then decides if police should be called….
read … City bus drivers frustrated over lack of mask enforcement
COVID-19 hospitalizations highest among seniors but are mounting for younger age groups, too
HNN: … In Hawaii, as across the globe, the majority of those hospitalized for COVID-19 have been seniors.
But younger people aren’t immune, health officials say, and newly-updated state data bears that out.
The state Health Department reports that about 16% of residents 60 and older who have contracted COVID-19 have been hospitalized. Of those, 1 in 6 have died.
For those in the 40-59 age group, the figure is lower but still startling: Roughly 5% have been hospitalized with severe symptoms. And of those who needed hospital care, about 9% died.
Those 20 to 39 years old make up the largest group of Hawaii residents who have contracted COVID-19. And of those who have tested positive, about 1% required hospitalization. None have died, the state said.
There have also been no deaths reported among minors who have tested positive. One person under 19 in the islands required hospitalization….
read … COVID-19 hospitalizations highest among seniors but are mounting for younger age groups, too
Activists Allege Illegal Evictions
KHON: … What really hurts is the federal "Plus Up" money that used to be part of her unemployment checks is no longer available.
"Without the $600, the extra $600, I only take in every week $552. So that already cuts. I only have a thousand to do my medication, the food, utilities that I have to pay for. And so it it's tight, it's tight," she said, adding that her union has helped connect her with resources.
"There's $67 million that's available," said property manager Daniel Lee, who says the real estate industry is encouraging landlords and tenants to come up with win-win solutions. "We're caught in the middle because we want to work it out with the tenants and the landlords so the most important thing is to be communicative."
"For the most part, everybody wants to pay, the landlords obviously they have their obligations, but they want to make it work," said Lee of Elevate Hawaii Management. "The less turnover they have, it's a better investment for the landlord. And the tenant we want them to have a stable place to live."
But it's not the responsible property managers or landlords that are the problem.
"We're seeing a lot of bullying. We're seeing a lot of threats, like the landlord, now banging on the door and saying pay rent or get out," said Dina Shek, legal director for the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawaii….
read … Extended moratorium on evictions provides renter relief, but lacks enforcement
Corona Virus News:
QUICK HITS: